As she stared at this handsome stranger in rising confusion, the rest of her scattered thoughts pieced themselves back together.
Julia had been in the shower, playing with the damn jets when she slipped and fell, because—
Holy shit, she was naked.
Sucking in air like it was going out of style, she sat up—sat up too fast. The shower stall spun and the man’s face swam. Pain shot down her neck, making her nauseous enough that she moaned.
“Whoa.” He placed his hands on her shoulders, steadying her. “I don’t think you should’ve moved as fast as an Olympic sprinter.”
Grabbing for cover, she realized that he’d placed a towel over her, but it had fallen aside when she sat up, surely giving him an eyeful of her goodies. Like everything. “I’m naked,” she said dumbly, her voice thick and hoarse as she snatched at the towel, pressing it to her chest.
That one-sided grin appeared. “I’ve noticed.”
Great.
“Well, I’m trying not to notice,” he added, and then he winked.
Julia moaned partly out of embarrassment and because her head felt like it was seconds from imploding.
The humor vanished from his face. “Okay. I’m not a doc, but I really think you might’ve hurt yourself.”
Glancing down, she saw faint pink trailing along the sand-colored stones. Holding on to her towel, she gingerly touched the side of her head. Julia bit back a groan as that sent a sharp pulse of pain across her skull. She drew her hand back, her stomach dipping when she saw blood on her fingertips.
“Shit,” she muttered.
The man chuckled. “Yeah, that sounds about right.”
Her mind raced in spite of the pain. She could be okay or she could have a concussion, the latter not being something to mess around with. Opening her eyes, she found the man watching her intently, staring at her in the way Lucian did.
“I’m sorry. We haven’t met yet.” He slid his hands down her arms, stopping just above her elbows. “I’m—”
“Gabriel?” she finished for him. When he nodded, all she could think was great, now two out of the three brothers had seen her breasts. Awesome.
“Most people call me Gabe, though.” He smiled again. “Thank God I was just outside on the porch when I heard you scream.”
Her mind was still moving slowly. “Do you know how long I was out?”
“Maybe a minute? A little longer.”
Okay. That was good news. Sort of.
“Do you think you should stand up?” he asked.
It really depended, but Julia didn’t want to spend any more time sitting on the shower floor with a towel barely covering her. “I think so.”
“Okay.” His gaze flicked to hers. “I promise I won’t look. My eyes are fixed to yours.”
Feeling her cheeks heat, she murmured something along the lines of thanks, and then she held on to the towel as he helped her get on her feet. Her legs were a little wobbly as she stepped out of the stall, and the brighter lights over the sink caused her headache to increase.
“How are you feeling?” he asked, still holding on to her arms.
“I don’t know.”
His gaze left hers for a fraction of the second and then the very tips of his cheeks flushed. “Here, let me help you with this.”
Before she could say no, he had the towel in his hands and had it wrapped around her. Folding the top ends together. There was still a gap from under her breast all the way down, but at least her ass wasn’t hanging out any longer.
“Let’s get you into the bedroom and sitting down. How’s that sound?”
“Good,” she murmured.
Gabe nodded and then slipped one arm around her shoulders. “Per—”
“What in the hell is going on here?”
Wincing at the booming demand, she peered over Gabe’s shoulder and saw Lucian standing in the doorway of the bedroom. Her stomach dropped all the way to her curled toes.
Could this get any worse?
Yes, she quickly realized. Devlin could also join the awkward threesome.
“Julia fell in the shower,” Gabe answered calmly. “She hit her head.”
“What?” Lucian stormed forward, brushing aside his brother with ease. “Are you okay?”
Julia thought she said yes, but Lucian’s sudden close proximity and his touch overrode her already scattered senses. His hands replaced Gabe’s, and even with the throbbing in her head, there was no way she could ignore the way her body reacted to him. Every part of her was acutely aware of the arm circling her back and the one sliding across her jaw, tilting her head back and to the side.
“Jesus,” he muttered.
Julia didn’t have to be a nurse to know that didn’t sound good. “I think I’ll be fine. I just need to—” Her gasp cut her off as she was suddenly off her feet and in Lucian’s arms, cradled against his chest.
Julia was stunned into silence.
She was not a small woman, and he picked her up like she weighed nothing more than a bag of potatoes. He walked out of the bathroom.
“Well, I was just going to aid her to the bed,” Gabe said from behind me, his tone teasing. “But you always have to outdo me.”
Hearing Gabe speak, she snapped out of her stupor. Julia clutched at the top and bottom of her towel, trying not to play peekaboo. “I can walk.”
“Glad to hear that,” Lucian replied.
“That means you can put me down.” Dragging in a deep breath, she thought she smelled food—chicken or something.
“Not necessary.” Lucian stopped and eased her down. “Already here.”
She held on to her towel for near life.
Looking over his shoulder to where Gabe was lingering, he barked out, “Have you called anyone?”
Oh no. “I don’t think you need to do that.”
“I haven’t had the chance.” Gabe dug into his pocket, pulling out the phone. “But I will call Flores.”
Julia stiffened. “But—”
“Can you also grab a clean towel and some ice?” Lucian asked, those sea-green eyes fixing on her. “How did this happen?”
She exhaled roughly. “I saw someone in the bathroom while I was showering—”
“What?” demanded Lucian.
With the phone to his ear, Gabe turned and stared at them as he picked up a towel from the closet. He was talking too low into the phone for her to hear, but she hoped the doctor was telling him he couldn’t make it.
She squirmed as Gabe opened the freezer door on the fridge. “There was someone in the bathroom. I saw them through the shower door and it startled me. I . . . I screamed and I slipped. I must’ve hit my head on one of the jets.”
“I heard her scream,” Gabe said, walking toward them with a towel in one hand, slipping his phone into the pocket with the other. “I was outside on the porch. By the way, Flores is coming. He said make sure she doesn’t go to sleep or move around too much.”
“I know that,” she replied.
Gabe raised a brow as he handed the packed towel over to Lucian. “Then you should also know that any head injury should be treated seriously. Correct? That you should let a doctor look at you.”
Julia opened her mouth, but he was right and she was being stupid. She knew she needed another set of trained eyes to look her over.
“I didn’t hear anything.” Lucian cupped her cheek in a way too intimate manner and placed the towel against what surely had to be a knot. Julia winced. “Sorry,” he murmured. “Are you sure you saw someone?”
“Yes.” Was she, though? Her gaze darted between the two men. “I mean, I saw something. I know I did.”
“There wasn’t anyone in here when I came in,” Gabe said, voice gentle despite the fact that he was basically saying it was impossible that she saw someone. “And I came as soon as I heard you scream. Only a handful of seconds could’ve passed.”
“But . . .” But if it wasn’t a person, what could she have seen? “I saw something.”
“We’re not saying you didn’t.” Lucian shifted the ice-covered towel. “Those shower doors can play tricks on your eyes, especially when the lights are flickering on and off. Create shadows that are not really there.”